Emotions are at an all time high on the grounds of Coker Tire and Honest Charley on this cloudy day in March. We started the day by putting the final touches on a 1912 Thomas Flyer, and revealing it to the car’s new owner. You see, this Thomas Flyer was our founder, Harold Coker’s last project car, before he passed away suddenly in November of last year. It was a long way from being finished at the time of his passing, but Corky Coker encouraged the guys at Honest Charley to complete it in time for the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance coming up this weekend. The car was passed down to Corky’s brother, David Coker, who saw the finished product for the first time this morning. Lill Coker was also on hand for the reveal, and it’s safe to say there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when the Coker’s saw the tag that Howard Horn hand-lettered to finish off the build. Keep reading for a touching video of the reveal and a bunch of pictures of Harold’s Last One.(more…)

If you’ve followed Coker Tire for very long, then you know we are HUGE advocates for getting out and putting plenty of miles on your collector vehicle. We’re proud to announce a new excuse to get in and go for a drive–the Coker Tire Tour to the Classic Motorsports Mitty. If you’ve never heard of “the Mitty”, it’s a road racing event held at Road Atlanta and it’s geared toward vintage cars. We’re planning an awesome ride from our facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee to the awesome Braselton, Georgia-based race track. The trip will include twisty back roads, delicious food and a finish destination that will offer lots of fun. It all starts with a “Cars and Coffee” type event here at Coker on Friday, April 24th. Then, we travel to beautiful Mercier Orchards in Blue Ridge, Georgia, and finally navigate the back roads to Road Atlanta, where a BBQ dinner will be waiting for us at the Mitty. Your ticket includes all meals, as well as a one-day ticket to the Mitty event. Click this link to learn more about the Coker Tire Tour to the Classic Motorsports Mitty: http://classicmotorsports.net/events/coker-tire-tour/

We’re proud of our products, and we’re proud to be the world’s leading supplier of tires and wheels for collector vehicles. We stand behind our products with a warranty against manufacturer’s defects, as well as an available 5-year protection plan, which is an outstanding value. This plan is available for both tires and wheels, and offers free replacement of tires or wheels that become damaged due to road hazards such as potholes, curbs and road debris. Extended Tire Protection is available on nearly all of our tires, for a small additional fee ($10 to $20 depending on the tire’s retail pricing), while Extended Wheel Protection has a flat fee of $25 per wheel. We’ve made it easy to add Extended Tire Protection or Extended Wheel Protection to your online order, but you can always give us a call at 1-866-516-3215, and we’ll gladly explain the programs in detail. Find out more about our extended protection programs by clicking here: https://www.cokertire.com/extended-tire-protection

Among the incredible and explosive growth in technology and opportunity in Chattanooga, the Tennessee Small Business Development Center continues to nurture and stimulate new businesses and young entrepreneurs. Nowhere is their work on display more prominently than in the scenic city, as innovative and exciting new businesses appear on every corner, many of which have benefited from the efforts of TSBDC.
The “Talk of the Town!” CEO Speaker Series was created by TSBDC to encourage young entrepreneurs and local business through the stories of successful entrepreneurs who started small and have grown their businesses into major corporations. In the fifth installment of their CEO speaker Series, Corky Coker talks about some of the events and challenges that came along while growing from a local tire store in the late 1950s, into an international icon in the automotive restoration industry today.

Coker Tire Company has been a huge supporter of the Great Race for many years, and continues to be a sponsor of the event each year. The Great Race promotes DRIVING old cars, and that’s what we’re all about. We’re excited to announce that the Great Race has expanded its format to include the Great American Tour for this year’s course on historic Route 66. And while the Great Race is geared toward competition, with $150,000 up for grabs, the event organizers decided to offer a more laid back option for car enthusiasts who wanted more of a “tour” and less of a “race”. The result is the Hemmings Motor News Great American Tour presented by Hagerty, an epic journey on historic Route 66 to see all the sights of The Mother Road.(more…)

Tire sizes can be a bit confusing, as the size designations changed a lot over the years. From standard bias ply sizes such as 6.70-15 to Alpha Numeric sizes like F70-15, all the way up to modern P-Metric sizing, such as 205/75R15. Even the most savvy car guys have trouble decoding certain sizes, so take a look at this handy chart, and it should help you figure out the bias ply and radial sizing cross reference!

Steve Coonan, owner and editor of The Rodder’s Journal magazine is a tried and true hot rodder. His magazine is the premier publication for hot rodders, and his photography is top-notch. Every issue (it comes out quarterly) is a keeper, and every issue is packed with excellent hot rods that roll on Coker Tire products. With that said, Steve Coonan’s personal car, a black ’32 Ford roadster, has our tires on it. Steve is a stickler for small details, as evidenced by his photography skills, but he admits that something as simple as a tire and wheel swap can provide a whole new look for a hot rod. He proved it by swapping tires and wheels multiple times at The Rodder’s Journal booth at the Grand National Roadster Show this year. We loved the idea, because we offer such a broad scope of tires and wheels. He called us up and ordered three sets of tires to go along with the tires that were already on the car. Keep reading to see all of the combinations in use on his beautiful highboy roadster!(more…)

If you’re a hot rodder, then you have probably heard of the “Deuce of Spades” movie. If you haven’t heard of it, do yourself a favor and order it now! We’re huge fans of the movie, and we’re even bigger fans of the black ’32 Ford roadster that stars in it. This thing is a stripped down highboy and it gets around Southern California to many promotional events, film festivals and more. The car had a set of our Firestone Deluxe Champion blackwall tires on it but they were worn out, so we brought her into our City of Industry, California location and installed a new set of Firestone 5.60-15 and 7.50-16 tires. Faith Granger is responsible for the movie production, and she’s fully involved in the hot rod community. Check out her roadster with the new rubber, and be sure to check out her movie!(more…)

Every year, we make our way out to the Grand National Roadster Show, held at the Pomona Fairplex in sunny Southern California. It’s the place where the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster is crowned, and it’s also an awesome place to see hot rods, customs, gassers, low riders and more. Although there are some exceptions, nearly everything on the grounds is sitting on tires and/or wheels from Coker Tire, so it’s a great place for us to take a bunch of pictures and show off some of our product. Take a look at our 40 favorite photos from the 2015 Grand National Roadster Show and also, watch our Instagram feed and Facebook page for up-to-the-minute posts from the show!(more…)

Every year, the O’Reilly World of Wheels comes to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and it’s held at the Chattanooga Convention Center, which is next door to our world headquarters. For 2014, we displayed a variety of barn finds, restorations, and custom builds, including the Car Warriors ’62 Thunderbird, Corky’s ’54 Buick Century, the Ford F-100 panel truck “billboard”, the ’49 Ford Business Coupe barn find, Harold Coker’s American Underslung, the Double Exposure ’32 Ford roadster and more!